Stop-motion device for spools.



UNITED STATES I PATENT QFFICE.

JOSEPH B. UNDERWOOD, OF FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA.

STOP-MOTION DEVICE FOR S'POO LS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 723,626, dated March24, 1 903.

Application filed July 11,1902. Serial No. 115,235. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, J OSEPH B. UNDERWOOD, residing at Fayetteville, inthe county of Cum berland and State of North Carolina, have invented anew and Improved Stop-Motion Device for Spoolers, &c., of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention seeks to provide a new and improved means for stoppingmotion of a bobbin on spooling and twisting frames, whereby upon thebreaking of any threads or strands which are being spooled the bobbincarrying the broken thread can be conveniently and instantly stoppedwithout interfering with the motion of its spindle or any of the otherbobbins operated from the main driver and without producing an irregularstrain on the driving means that joins the spindle with the stoppedbobbin or the driving means for the other bobbin-spindles that form apart of the complete spooler or twister frame.

Heretofore, so far asI know, it has been the common practice upon thebreaking ofvthe thread for the operator to press down on the.

bobbin with one hand to frictionally hold it and its spindle fromrotation while the broken ends of the thread are being tied.

I am also aware that automatically and manually operated brakemechanisms have heretofore been provided for engaging the spindle of thebobbin when the thread breaks tohold it and the bobbin from rotation.The aforesaid stop-motion means experience has demonstrated as not beingwithout serious objections, for the reason that while the spindle isheld from rotation the driver-belt therefor, which receives its motionfrom a main cylinder or drive-shaft that imparts motion to all of thelaterally-extended or supplemental driver-belts when the spindle is heldfrom turning, as stated, is placed under an increased strain by reasonof its slipping action, which then occurs on the spindle-sheave. Thisincreased strainon the spindle-driver belts soon stretches the saidbelts and causes them during active operation to loosely run over theirrespective spindle-sheaves and the main driving spindle or shaft, and asthe various drive belts become differentially stretched it follows thata regular or uniform speed rotation of the entire set of spindles drivenby the main cylinder or shaft is prevented and a uniform winding of allof the bobbins made impossible.

The main object of my invention is to provide a simple andeconomically-constructed which the stoppedspool is mounted.

Again, my invention seeks to provide a device of the character stated,includinga novel construction of lever and a means for shiftablymountingit, whereby movement thereof in one direction will shift the spool orbobbin from positive contact with the spindle and at the same timeautomatically lock the saddlever to the said position, and theshiftingof the lever in the other direction will effect a dropping of the spoolinto frictional contact with the spindle and automatically lock thelever to the said lateral'position, and in its more subordinate featuresmy invention consists in certain details of construction andcombinationof parts, all of which will hereinafter be fully describedand specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view ofso much of a spooler-frame as is necessary to illustrate my invention.Fig. 2 is a cross-section there of. Fig. 3 is a front view, showing theshifting lever in its normal position and the spool in positive runningcontact with its spindle. Fig. 4 is a similar View, the lever being inits other position and the spool lifted out of positive contact with itsspindle. tail view of the shifting lever. detail view of the slotway ZIn the drawings, A designates the spindle- Fig. 5 is a carrying beam ofthe spooler-frame; B, the.

drive-cylinder, which imparts motion to all of Fig. 5 is a dethelaterally-extending drive-belts C, that join with the sheaves d of thespindles D, mounted in the brackets E, secured to the beam A in theusual manner. The spools or bobbins F are loosely held on the taperedend of the spindles and the annular bearingflanges d thereof andfrictionally engage the said spindle to rotate therewith when they aredropped to their lowermost or operative position.

In the practical application of my invention a stop-motion is providedfor each spool or bobbin independently operated and arranged to controlits respective spool without affecting any of the other spools. It iswell understood in the practical construction of aspooler-frame that thespindles are closely arranged with just room enough to allow the spoolsturning freely without engaging each other, and the upper end of thespindle-beam is disposed in a plane near the upper ends of the spools,as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The stop-motion device consists of a bellcrank lever L, fulcrumed uponthe outer face a: of the bobbin-box X, as best shown in Figs. 1, 4, and5, by reference to which, it will. be noticed, the said lever isdisposed between a pair of spools and comprises a long or handle memberL, thatextends up above the upperedge of the box X, so that it can beconveniently grasped by the operator without danger of engaging with thespools and consequent injury. The lever also includes a short or crankmember L, which terminates in an outwardly-curved portion L that extendsunder and engages the bottom face of its coincident spool F. Theobjectin bending the member L as described, is to provide for engagingthe under face of the spool at a point near its spindle-aperture,whereby when the lever L is manipulated to lift the spoolthe same will receive'its upthrust as nearly central as possible, andthereby reduce the danger of tilting the spool or causing it to lose itsproper vertical position upon the spindle to the minimum.

The lever L has fulcru med atits angle-point a stud m, which is securedto the box X and coacts withthe vertically-elongated slot Z in the saidangle end of the lever. The upper or handle end of the lever L has asegmental and horizontally-curved slot 6 the ends of which terminate innotched seats Z i the purpose of which will presently appear.

n designates a second stud, projected from the box X, which engages theslot Z and the said stud, as will be readily understood by reference toFig. 1, is disposed a little to one side of vertical alinement with thestud m, such arrangement of parts being provided to effect an automaticlocking of the lever when adjusted to either position.

By providing a stop-motion arranged as shown and described it ismanifest that the handle end of each lever extends sufficiently abovethe spools that the operator can quickly grasp any particular one of thesaid handles,

ver, and thereby prevents such end and the body of the lever fromtilting or leaving its locked position under ordinary jarring orvibration of. the beam A or other parts of the spooler-frame, it beingunderstood, by referring to Fig. 3, thestud end when the lever Lis inthe position last mentioned is in engagement with the seat Z of thecurved slot Z Thus the weight of the spool serves to maintain the leverin one of its adjusted positions.

When the thread from the spool breaks, the operator grasps the upper orhandle end of the lever L, gives it a slight pull vertically to lift thenotch or seat Z off the stud end to bring the curved slot in a planewith the said stud end, and then swings the lever L over to the positionshown in Fig. 4, which elevates the crank end L and correspondinglylifts the spool F sufficient to bring it out of a positive or frictionalcontact with the spindle, to which position the spool is then held byreason of the lever becoming automatically locked to its shiftedposition, which is caused by the notch or seat Z now engaging the studend and the weight of the spool F, which holds the said lever swung overto the lastmentioned position. Thus the weight of the spool assists inmaintaining the lever to either of its shifted positions, and by reasonof the elongated slot at the lower or fulcrum end of the lever provisionis made for manually lifting the lever out of its locked position whenit is desired to shift the same in either direc tion.

By providing a stop-motion device, as described, it is manifest theoperator can in stantly shift the lever L to raise the spool frompositiveengagement with its spindle when the thread breaks, and therebystop the motion of the spool during the operation of tying the threadends together without stopping the spindles rotation or in any mannerimpeding the motion thereof and disarranging the regular driving powerof the main cylinder and the lateral belts driven thereby. As it isusual for the operator to handle the upper end of the spools in theordinary manner of stdpping, the placing of the lever-handle above theupper end of the spools makes it convenient for handling and permits ofstarting or stopping the spools with a simple single hand movement,thereby leaving both hands of the operator free to catch the thread endsand tie the same while the spool remains loosely upon its spindle. Avery advantageous result in placing the stop-motion as stated andconstructing it as shown is that the spools rotation can be stopped andstarted without appreciably afiecting the pull strain on thespindle-driver.

My invention differentiates from mechanical spool-shifting devicesbefore provided in the peculiar construction of the tiltable lever, itscooperative arrangement with the spools, the special locking means forholding the lever to its shifted positions, and the correlation of thesaid locking means, the lifter end of the lever, and the spool, wherebythe engagement of the spool with the said lifter end of the levermaterially aids in maintaining the lever to its adjusted positions.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a stop-motion mechanism of the character described, the combinationwith the bobbin-box,a continuously-rotatable spindle,and a bobbinslidably mounted thereon and normally held in positive contacttherewith; of a bell-crank leverpivoted upon the bobbinbox to swing inthe plane of its outer face, said angle-lever having its short arm heldto engage the under face of the bobbin, and adapted to lift the saidbobbin from positive contact with the spindle, said lever having itsfulcrum-slot elongated vertically and pro= vided with a segmentalhorizontally-disposed slot in its upper end whose ends terminate inseats, a stud on the bobbin-box, extended within the curved slot, andadapted to cooperate with the end seat portions thereof, the upper endof the said lever being projected above the bobbin-box, all beingarranged substantially as shown and described. 7

JOSEPH B. UNDERWOOD. Witnesses:

J. B. BROADFOOT, D. SHAW.

